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Snegurochka
Snegurochka, a.k.a. Snow Maiden, is a figure from Slavic folklore who takes the form of a young woman and is associated with ice and snow. Her origins differ widely among fairy tales. She is perhaps most well-known nowadays as the granddaughter of Ded Moroz, who accompanies him in his journeys to bring gifts to well-behaved children on New Year's Eve. In this role, she's commonly portrayed as a beautiful and cheerful figure, wearing a light-blue fur coat similar to her grandfather's, and sometimes wears an elaborate snowflake-like crown. However, earlier stories had portrayed her as anything from a snow spirit, a representative of a race of snow fairies, a snow sculpture who magically came to life, or simply a personification of snow. These stories typically ended tragically for the Snow Maiden and/or her loved ones. Literary Variations In the 1864 story "The Little People of the Snow", by American poet William Cullen Bryant, the character referred to as the Snow-maiden befriends a mortal girl named Eva and takes her to see her homeland, but is horrified when Eva freezes to death while sleeping. In an 1869 story by Alexander Afanasyev, the character Snegurka is a snow doll built by a childless couple who magically comes to life and is raised by them like a daughter. When a group of girls invite her to their game of leaping over a fire, Snegurka takes a turn and promptly evaporates midair. This fairy tale was included by Andrew Lang in The Pink Fairy Book (1897), titled "Snowflake". Perhaps the most well-known work of literature centered around this character is Alexander Ostrovsky's 1873 play Snegurochka (known in English as The Snow Maiden), and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera based on it. In this play, the title character is portrayed as the daughter of Spring the Beauty and Father Frost (Ded Moroz). Here too she meets a tragic end as she begs her mother to give her the ability to love like the mortals, and when she does, her heart warms and results in her melting. The 1876 story The Snow‐Maiden: A Legend of the Alps, by an unknown author, tells of a man who travels through the snowy mountains and falls in love with the Snow Maiden, bringing her to the valley to marry her, only to watch her melt as the temperature increases. Here, the Snow Maiden is called Niègette. In "The Secret", an 1886 story by Emilia, Lady Dilke; the Snow Maiden is the one responsible for her lover's death, as her freezing gaze immediately kills him. Some plays include a personification of snow in the form of a young woman, such as The Christmas Chain, by Lilian Pearson (1921), in which she's Miss Snow; and Queen Christmas: A Pageant Pla''y, by Carolyn Wells (1922), in which she's just '''Snow'. See also *Yuki-onna, a somewhat similar but far more sinister spirit from Japanese folklore. Category:Legendary Creatures Category:Females Category:Spirits Category:Elementals Category:Sentient Beings Category:Sapient Beings Category:Humanoids Category:Cryokinetic Creatures Category:Immortal Creatures Category:Russian Characters Category:Friendly Creatures Category:Literary Creatures Category:Animated Creatures Category:Live Action Creatures Category:Variable Status